Inside the 2009 Baseball Winter Meetings
Monday, December 7--Tim Pasisz
Baseball's annual gathering began Monday on a cold, cold day in Indianapolis. Winter Meetings have begun, and, let me start off by saying....to those who choose the location - I hear San Diego or Honolulu is nice in December!
The Winter Meetings this year are being held in Downtown Indianapolis. As much as I do not like cold weather (did I say it is cold out?), this is a nice place to have it. The meetings are in the shadow of Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis Colts), Victory Park (Indianapolis Indians), the NCAA Headquarters, and the Conseco Fieldhouse (Indiana Pacers).
I'm here with several other members of 7th Inning Stretch, LLC. 7th Inning Stretch is the ownership group that owns our Stockton Ports, the Delmarva Shorebirds (Class A, South Atlantic League), and the Everett Aquasox (Short Season, Northwest League). This year each team sent two representatives...2 from Stockton (our President/GM Pat Filippone and Asst. GM Luke Reiff), 2 from Delmarva, 2 from Everett, as well as 7th Inning Stretch's majority owner and CEO Tom Volpe. I was sent to coordinate the merchandise buying for all 3 teams.
Monday is the more than just a day that everyone spends getting accustomed to the lay-out (yes, everyone gets lost at least once!) and the time changes. There is serious business going on.....Monday is the learning day for Minor League Baseball staff members - the annual Bob Freitas Seminars occur from early morning through late afternoon (with a break for the luncheon). These seminars cover topics from social networking, merchandise operations, ballpark set-up and maintenance, legal issues, and many....many more. No matter how long you have been in baseball....you will walk away from this day with at least one good idea to take with you.
Once 5 p.m. comes along, it is time to mingle and enjoy the Opening Night of the Baseball Trade Show. Each year 300+ vendors gather to sell their goods and promote their business to baseball teams-everything from clothing vendors to giveaway promotion item vendors to mascot design vendors. What happens Monday evening you ask? Well....mainly a lot of walking around sampling the free food and beverages.....and, maybe some shop talk and talk about merchandise.
After the trade show this evening, I joined the remainder of the 7th Inning Stretch contingent for a dinner at a steakhouse downtown. Apparently it was the place to be at as Scott Boras, player-agent extraordinaire, was at the table next to ours. And yes, even the Modesto Nuts staff was there...but naturally, we had the better table (as we should).
What's on tap for tomorrow? Well, for me it is catching up on sleep (flying out here on the red-eye was brutal!). After that, Tuesday begins the true meetings for most of the participants.
I will join my counterparts from Stockton in the California League meetings in the morning, meet up with the rest of the 7th Inning Stretch gang to review merchandise options for next year (I promise some exciting stuff is going to be in all 3 of our stores!), and then conclude the day with a handful of parties.....first the annual party that the Oakland Athletics representatives put on for all of their affiliates, and then moving over to a party thrown by our Nike products vendor.
It is a tough job, but someone has to do it.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's update....some exciting sightings, some trade rumors (no...not talking about players, just trying to negotiate time in Everett or Delmarva this summer so I can see how they run their games and stores), and of course...a recap of the day's events.
Stay Tuned!
Tuesday, December 8--Luke Reiff
Let me start off by saying, it is good to be home. Naturally by growing up just a stone's throw away from Indianapolis in Fort Wayne, IN, attending college at Indiana University, and getting my start in baseball with the Indianapolis Indians, I was truly excited to hear that the '09 Winter Meetings would be held in Naptown, and so far so good.
I've always felt that this city was widely underrated, and to this point I think most meeting attendees would agree. I plan to hit all 3 major sports venues before leaving town with a tour of my old stomping grounds Victory Field, catching the Pacers/Blazers game at Conseco Fieldhouse, and attending the MILB Gala Wednesday night at Lucas Oil Stadium (The home of the 12-0 Indianapolis Colts)!
The Winter Meetings are commonly associated with Major League Baseball, ESPN, and the MLB Network, however it is actually Minor League Baseball that is the larger contingent in attendance. With promotional seminars, a job fair, trade shows, and meetings of all kinds there are more than 150 minor league clubs represented at the meetings. Here is a quick synopsis of the first couple of days.
Following a long day of travel and a late night on Sunday, the meetings began bright and early Monday morning. With promotional seminars being hosted all day long, we covered topics ranging from clever new ticketing strategies to ways to expand and utilize our online digital property. While there were a few presentations that bombed, I did walk away from the seminars with a good compliment of ideas that will make their way back to Stockton.
Monday evening was the 7th Inning Stretch, LLC's (Organization consisting of 3 teams: Stockton Ports, Delmarva Shorebirds, Everett Aquasox) organizational dinner at St. Elmo's Steakhouse. St. Elmo's is a 107-year-old Downtown Indianapolis institution, famous for its steak and shrimp cocktail. Watching the first timers in my crew attempt to stomach St. Elmo's uneccesarily potent horseradish sauce was comedic gold!
Tuesday morning was kicked off with a trip to the MILB Trade Show that highlights products and services of all kinds. Along with Tim Pasisz (Ports Merchandise Manager), Tom Backemeyer (Everett Exec. VP) and Chris Bitters (Delmarva GM), I plan to set in motion a lot of what you see and do during the summer at the ballpark right here at the trade show.
Later tonight will be an organizational banquet hosted by Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics, followed by a night out on the town with the 7th Inning Stretch crew, known jerks from the Fresno Grizzlies (another former employer of mine, whose employees are always up for a good time), and of course anyone else who wanders into our path.
In Major League news, as a lifelong Atlanta fan, I was discouraged to hear that Rafael Soriano chose to accept the Braves' arbitration offer right before deadline, which surprised even the Altanta front office. Given the fact that they have signed Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito in the past week, it was clear that the organization had moved on and did not expect Soriano to accept. At this point, it looks as though the poor guy (who actually had a great year in the Braves bullpen) will be traded.
In other news, it turns out that the Giants lineup will remain pathetic, Roy Halladay is still a Blue Jay, and Peter Gammons wears a suit with tennis shoes everywhere he goes.
So long from Indy!
Tuesday, December 8--Tim Pasisz
The second full day of the Winter Meetings here in Indianapolis. What does that mean for me? A lot of work and a very, very full day.
As mentioned yesterday, a major part of the Baseball Winter Meetings is the Trade Show. Anything you can think of, or ever want (baseball related) is here and available to you. Although some of my counterparts are looking for other things, my main focus in the Trade Show is the red carpet area...aka...the Licensee section. It is this section where we can obtain all of the items you will find in our Team Store next year.
The day began later than I wanted (still recovering from the red-eye flight the day before) with a text message from our Everett Team's Executive VP. He wanted to check in with me so that we could walk the Trade Show together that morning before we started our league meetings. So, needless to say I readied myself and met him in the hotel lobby. And, after a very important, and necessary, stop at the Starbucks in the hotel lobby (THANK YOU!) we were off to the Convention Center and the Trade Show.
So the main reason I am in Indy this year, and attending the Winter Meetings is to coordinate the best possible pricing and product line for all three of our teams. Sounds easy, right? Not exactly. Walking through the Trade Show with a Winter Meetings name badge is crazy. Of course it is not as easy as there being one t-shirt vendor, one hat vendor, one mini-bat vendor--there are several of each. Everybody has the best product that will make your fans the happiest (according to them that is). AND, I need to keep in mind the various climates and fan bases our teams have.
Thankfully, I have managed to be pretty productive and successful in our efforts and I can guarantee there will be plenty of nice product in our store this season (and yes, just so you all know...and so you can prepare for it as it will surely sell out quick...we will have Ports lip balm in the store...just wait for April 15th!).
After the Trade Show (I missed the California League meetings as I was tied up in the Trade Show,so unfortunately I cannot report how that went), it was time to spend the evening partying it up, Indianapolis style. I was lucky enough to be able to attend two different major league affiliate parties this evening, our very own Oakland Athletics, and the Seattle Mariners (major league affiliate of our Everett AquaSox). Billy Beane and his staff were present at the party and I can assure you there are plenty of good things coming from the A's this season.
The final party of the night was a mile away and a bit of a hike in the torrential downpour, but was hosted by our Nike vendors. It never hurts to spend time with them and make them happy showing our support of them...especially since I have a meeting set tomorrow.
Ok, one more day left (Thursday morning is a day to wrap stuff up, and begin the long trip home). What's left for tomorrow--more Trade Show, more price negotiations, and, yes of course, more parties. Tomorrow ends with the Annual Gala for the Winter Meetings. This year is being held at the Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the Indianapolis Colts)...who knows, maybe Peyton will be there.
That's it from Indy for today....for all of the player action and trades go to your favorite sports site and check it out (there was plenty of it!)....with more to come.
Oh yeah...almost forgot - still COLD here and tomorrow is supposed to be miserable with 50 mile per hour winds and heavy snow...#1 on my list tomorrow - visit the Honolulu/Oahu Visitors Bureau website, print out the information and personally deliver it to the Winter Meetings Office Staff...somebody remind me about it in case I forget please!
Editor's Note: Minor League Baseball announced that Dallas will be the host site of the 2011 Baseball Winter Meetings, so Hawaii will have to wait another year.
Wednesday, December 9--Tim Pasisz
Ok, here it is Wednesday, the final full day in Indianapolis, and it is actually a great city. I take back any negative comments about the city...just leave the comments about the weather because yes, it was COLD here today with snow and nasty winds!
Wednesday is a day to wrap up any loose ends for teams at the Winter Meetings. Although they officially go through Thursday, a good 80 to 90% of participants choose to return home on Thursday instead of staying.
For me, Wednesday was a day to conclude writing up orders for merchandise for our teams. More great items were purchased and I can honestly say, the Ports will have the best Minor League Baseball Team Store in Stockton, California!
I took some time this afternoon to check out more of the city...up until now I had not ventured outside of the convention center and the host hotels very much. I walked over to Victory Field, the home of the AAA Indianapolis Indians. I must say, this is a VERY nice park....but is probably a lot nicer when the temperature is above 14 degrees and snow is not blowing sideways!
Wednesday evening is traditionally the host of the large Winter Meetings wide gala. This year, the gala was located at Lucas Oil Field, home stadium of the Indianapolis Colts! I must say, although I am a 49ers fan, this stadium is amazing! Part of the party was a tour of the stadium....locker rooms, press box and even time on the field itself! And yes, don't you worry...I threw a game winning touchdown pass on the field to Delmarva's Assistant GM Jimmy Sweet to end the tour (well to end the tour for the two of us because security kicked us off the field!)
That's it Ports fans...Baseball's Winter Meetings is coming to a wrap here in Indianapolis. Plenty of meetings, plenty of business being conducted in the Trade Show, plenty of networking, and (of course) plenty of partying! It has been a great experience being able to represent all three of our teams in the merchandise aspect here in Indianapolis and please do let me know your thoughts of our items (that means you Delmarva and Everett fans as well!) this next season.
Tomorrow is a day of travel and rest, before a busy day in the office on Friday getting caught up. But before that, the morning will be spent doing some more sight-seeing around the city.....the Indianapolis Speedway (home of the Indianapolis 500) and the NCAA Headquarters/Museum!
Thanks for checking in, and I definitely look forward to reporting from Orlando next year! Next year the Disney resorts host the Winter Meetings and I'll be sure to write about the interactions with Mickey and his gang. But before then, let's do our best to cheer on our team(s) and let's hope to be able to show up in Orlando as reigning champions of the league!
Happy Holidays and best wishes....look forward to seeing you at the ballpark this year.